Waiʻānapanapa Campground — Attraction in Maui

It is a difficult feat to book a campsite or cabin at Waiʻānapanapa Campground. Sites become available at midnight Hawaii local time 30 days in advance, and are gone in seconds. After a couple disappointing late night failures, we finally got a spot and camped out in our rental van for two nights as a part of our epic Road to Hana trip. It is definitely the best located campground you can find for the road trip - and you can't beat the easy access to its famous black sand beach.

If you are doing this trip - I can't recommend enough doing the BACKROAD to Hana instead of doing all of your sightseeing on the way in. We chose to drive straight to the campground the first night - spent the next day exploring the black sand beach, driving south to Hana, hiking at Haleakala State Park, and taking a dip in the Venus Pool; and then the second day we spent driving back north in the direction of Paia, beating the rush to most of the sites along the way, and having them all to ourselves while we watched the traffic pile up on the opposite side.

PROS: Unlimited access to the black sand beach during its open hours for the duration of your stay (NO NEED TO BOOK SEPARATE RESERVATION FOR ACCESS); unbeatable location for the Road to Hana camping road trip

CONS: Below average bathrooms - stalls don't have trash cans (so women left their used feminine products on top of the toilet paper holder 🤢), there's no curtain or door for the changing area - quite a rundown beach bathroom for such a popular state park...

We did a camper van spot. It’s basically just a big grass lot. There are no tables or dividers between spots. Showers are all right in the open so you have to shower with a bathing suit. No hot water which wasn’t a big deal. There is only one toilet (and one urinal) in the men’s bathroom. They close all the trails at 5:30 so there isn’t much to do in the evening. And no place for fire pits, just a few grill stands scattered around, but only one in the camper van spot. I would recommend spot 3. Otherwise the grounds are very well kept and trails are nice. Be sure to have your camp permit downloaded or printed before you get there as service is spotty. Awesome spot to watch sunrise! Hana is very close with plenty of food options and stores. Also you can get an early start and be the first to Pipiwai trailhead like us and have the whole trail to yourself before others get there (and then hit Hamoa beach after to chill for...

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing the magic of Maui's beaches during a camping trip and it was truly an unforgettable experience. From waking up at sunrise to going on a scenic hike, every moment of the trip was nothing short of incredible. *Please note that there is a small graveyard located basically right on the campsite so if you are someone who is afraid to spend a night thinking of that, you better not to experience that. It took me by surprise, I was somewhat freaked out, especially at night but obviously there is...